Krüsi, Hans

sans titre

Author

Krüsi, Hans (1920-1995), Switzerland

Biography

Hans Krüsi was born in the canton of Appenzell (Switzerland). He was taken in by some local farmers at the age of two and, eight years later, placed in an orphanage. He later found work as a farmhand, although he dreamt of becoming a gardener. Unable to fulfill his wish, he ended up selling flowers in Zurich and, subsequently, in Bern and the canton of Vaud. He settled permanently in Saint-Gallen in 1948, commuting daily from there to Zurich, where he sold flower bouquets along the opulent Bahnhofstrasse.

Krüsi began drawing at the age of fifty-five, offering his work to customers for a mere pittance. He took up drawing and painting on his own initiative, delving into his childhood memories for the major themes in his pieces: Alpine landscapes, chalets, pine trees, shepherds at work and farm animals. His compositions feature iconic rural motifs that he repeats in profile, side by side, following the horizontal sense of the support. These "Poya" (cattle drive to mountain pastures), which he deflects from a more traditional approach and reinterprets to his own taste, lend themselves marvelously to this approach.

He made his first drawings using a felt-tipped pen on napkins, but later resorted to sheets of paper. He also took up painting, using paper, pieces of cardboard and wood panels as supports. Further still, he created a number of tridimensional pieces.

As of 1980, gallery dealers began taking an interest in his work, but he continued to feel ill at ease seeing his pieces hanging from their walls.